Karni Mata Fair 2015 - March 21 (Saturday) - March 31 (Tuesday)

Karni Mata Fair is a biannual fair celebrated in honor of Karni Mata in Desknok town close to Nokha, which is situated 60 kms away from Bikaner in Rajasthan. Karni Mata is the official deity for the royal family of Bikaner since centuries. Observed twice during a 10-day period right from Chaitra Shukla Ekam to Chaitra Shukla Dashmi and again from Ashwin Shukla Ekam to Ashwin Shukla Dashmi, Karni Mata Fair is held in high esteem by people not just from the surroundings but from far off places as well. The first instance of this grand North Indian festival is observed during March or April. It is celebrated again in September or October.

Among the two fairs, the Chaitra Navratri’s fair is the larger one in which thousands of pilgrims and followers make Deshnok as their religious destination. Karni Mata Fair of is an occasion of religious festivity and harmony for the region. The fair is organized on a grand level by the support of district administration during the Nine days of Navaratri festival to commemorate the Goddess Karni. She is popularly known as Karni Mata.

Facts about Karni Mata Life

Deshnok is the native place of Karni Mata where as per the legends; she fought for low castes communities and dedicated her whole life by working towards the deprived and oppressed communities of the village. It is believed that she possessed with mystical powers that is worshiped and regarded as the patron deity of Charans and rulers of Bikaner.

Karni Mata led an austere life by dedicating her life for the development of the poor and downtrodden. Best known for consisting of supernatural powers, Karni Mata has been exemplary for many others throughout her life. She is credited for laying the foundation for Deshnok town. In fact, she got most of her followers in the form of "Charans" who proved to be crucial in spreading her valuable teachings. People from nearby regions of Bikaner too are known to visit the temple in order to offer their sacred prayers to the goddess regularly.

Karni Mata Temple – An Architectural Splendor

Ardent worshippers of the sacred deity refer to Karni Mata Temple as Madh due to its unique constructional brilliance. The temple is a unique representation of marble and stone adorned with beautiful sculptures all over. Gracious images of Karni Mata decorated with tiara are found adorning the walls over providing a perfect feast to the eyes of art lovers. Devotees of the goddess visit the temple each year to offer their prayers with utmost devotion. Rajputs are known to bring their toddlers to the temple as part of “jadula” (first instance of head tonsuring) as part of the tradition.

Unique Sightings at Karni Mata Fair

Regular devotees who visit the popular Deshnok temple share their experiences with utmost delight. The unique feature of the temple is the number of thousands of white and brown rats, wandering inside the temple. These rats are equally worshiped by the devotees and observed as the messenger of Karni Mata. It is customary for people to offer rats food whenever they find one. More specifically, people consider the sight of white rats as good omen. Most of the devotees consider themselves lucky for finding a white rat in the temple. Perhaps, they consider that their prayers will be answered for sure as they find white rats in the location.

Local Importance of Karni Mata Temple

Devotees attend the much popular Karni Mata Fair in large numbers every year. Perhaps, there are two temples located on the name of Karni Mata in Jaipur, one in Deshnok and the other in Udaipur. People are known to offer their prayers with a lot of devotion by considering the goddess as their deity. Most of the worshippers are of the staunch opinion that their wishes are granted once they pray to Karni Mata. Tourists who visit Jaipur as part of their Rajasthan tour schedule must visit this temple for sure.